chapter 1
Denki is different. He knows he is, but it doesn't mean the mers in his pod had to look at him the way they do. Denki is an eel mer, the rarest type of mer, and has the most stigma surrounding them. He is the only one left in his pod. His mother died when he was born, so he grew up with his father, who didn't like the fact that he was part eel, so he started treating him like the rest of the pod did, which was not great.
A mers level of strength is measured in its tail, so the fact that eels have wiggly slimy tails means he was always made fun of by the members of his pod.
Luckily he has a saving grace in his friends, who treat him normally. But they don't really understand. Kirishima and Bakugo have been mates for years, and they are Denkis's closest friends, along with Sero. But they're all busy, so Denki has a lot of alone time to think about how different he is and how ugly and weak he looks compared to the average mer. Bakugo and Kirishima are caught up in trying to start a family, and Sero (although did not admit it) Denki believes he is trying to court the two-toned mer with ice and fire abilities.
Denkis's abilities are another reason mers in his pod are so wary of him. One electric shock, and he could seriously hurt someone. He never uses his ability for that reason. He never wants to hurt anyone. Although he still has to practice, so when he does, he goes next to the trench that none of his fellow pod members want to go near. Especially with all the stories told about it.
How deep in the trench there are monsters lurking, how there are sirens down there. Sirens should be enough to shake people in their metaphorical boots. Sirens are two times bigger than mers growing on average to be ten feet long. They're known to be ruthless blood hungry monsters that are built to be the best warriors. But their size and strength aren't what scare the mers off. No, it's their voice. They trick mers foolish enough to be in their presence, and the mer will go into a trance and do whatever the siren tells them to do.
Denki often wonders if sirens just get a bad rap like eels do or if the stories are true like they say. Not like he would ever get close enough to find out. That's why practicing near the trench is no big deal because no one from his pod is going to go anywhere near the drop. Even though Denki knows no one will follow him there, he always feels like there is someone watching him as he practices. He doesn't think twice about it, though, because he knows no one would be stupid enough to sneak up on him unless they want to have electrical burns.
One day when Denki is training his abilities, he feels like something is off. He looks around and spots over the trench. Near the surface, there is a boat with a net dragging behind it. Caught in that net is a pup from his pod wiggling and trying to be set free of the human net.
Denki swims as fast as he can to the boat to get to the pup. He is crying and wiggling, trying to be set free from the net. Denki grabs the pup and pulls him out, but his arms get stuck. The boat starts to circle, and yelling can be heard when a spear shoots into the water, barely missing them. Denki yells at the pup to swim away and save themselves because now it's Denkis turn to be wrapped in a net.
This is such an awful way to die, Denki thinks to himself when finally he gets hit with luck for what feels like the first time in his life. When another spear cuts the net from the boat.
But Denki is still stuck and can't move a muscle. Great, never mind, he thinks. Now he is going to die in the trench at the hands of some crazy monster.
He sinks lower and lower until, finally, he hits the bottom floor. The lighting is so dim down here, so it's hard to see.
Denki feels the start of a panic attack coming on. He's stuck. He is in the depths of the trench, he can barely see, and it's harder to breathe because of the pressure of the water. He struggles against the net a little more when he starts seeing spots and knows in the back of his mind that he is about to pass out from fear. He tries to stay awake, he really does, but the last thing he sees before he passes out makes him shake in fear. That's the longest tail he's ever seen slowly swim above him, and all he can see is purple. Then in the next second, he's out